Twenty one percent of privately-rented accommodation has been found to contain unsafe gas appliances, meaning that over 2.7 million tenants could be in danger. Landlords hold the legal responsibility to ensure that appliances are in safe working order. Unfortunately, over a third of landlords are unaware of this responsibility, and worryingly, tenants are also oblivious to the fact that their boiler needs to be safety checked annually.

There are a few worrying facts to consider. For example, despite it being the legal requirement of landlords to make sure that all gas appliances are checked every year by a Gas Safe engineer, a third don’t know this, and fifteen percent think it’s the responsibility of their local council. This lack of knowledge is dangerous when it concerns the health check of gas appliances, as mismanagement could result in injury or even death.

Studies have highlighted that there has been a higher number of unsafe gas appliances in rented property than privately owned. It’s vital that landlords carry out their duty, which covers checking fittings and chimneys/flues, as well as gas appliances, by a registered Gas Safe engineer.

So what is your responsibility?

Outlined in the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, here are your responsibilities summed up:

1. Maintenance - appliances, chimneys/flues and pipework need to be maintained, and gas appliances need to be serviced once a year.

2. Gas Safety Checks - These need to carried out annually by a Gas Safety Engineer.

3. Record - Keep a record of your checks and present them to new tenants at the beginning of their tenancy, and your current tenants within 28 days of completion.

If you fail to do so, you could find yourself fined, or even with a custodial sentence issued to the landlord or letting agent who is responsible for managing the property.

Tenancy agreements will allow for landlords to access rental properties in order to carry out a Gas Safety Check. ‘All reasonable steps’ need to be carried out to ensure that the check is completed. If difficult tenants do not allow entry, then landlords can contact an environmental officer for advice. As long as proof can be shown to indicate that all sensible measures have been taken to carry out the inspection, then penalties should not be enforced.

Here at Concentric Sales and Lettings we’d love to take the stress off your hands. We make it our mission to keep up-to-date with the latest legislation and changes to ensure we’re offering our landlords the most professional service. If you’d to consider handing the time-consuming headache over to us, we’ll ensure that your properties are a legally safe haven for your tenants. Simply visit our site to discover more, and take that first step to freeing up your time to focus on what you want to be doing.